The female guard immediately knelt on one knee, saying, "This subordinate dares not."
Shen Mianmian was startled. "...Sorry, I was just kidding. Let's begin."
Amazed, he thought, although their physiques differed from those of the legendary bodyguards, their personalities were exactly the same, both so rigid and meticulous.
The female bodyguard stood up, her movements swift and decisive. "Please."
"..."
Helpless, Chen Mianmian could only clumsily launch an attack.
Just as the guard said, no matter how she attacked, she couldn't touch the opponent.
The female bodyguard was clearly tall, but she was agile. After fighting for a while, the other person was doing it with ease, while she was panting heavily.
On the other side, Ding struggled for a long time before finally mustering her courage to ask, "Your Highness, if Mianmian loses, are you really going to keep her here for half a year? But Mianmian is still a beginner; how can she compare to the secret guards who have been practicing martial arts for over ten years?"
Princess Ryan laughed, "Are you just trying to scare her? If I keep her here for half a year, won't Qingzhou come crying to me?"
Mrs. Ding breathed a sigh of relief. "...I see."
She knew that although Princess Ryan had the inevitable arrogance and haughtiness of someone in a high position, she was clear about her likes and dislikes, and would treat those she approved of with all her heart.
On the training ground,
Shen Mianmian quickly realized the insurmountable gap in strength between the two, so she immediately adjusted her mindset, no longer using force in her attacks, and used this valuable practical experience to train her agility.
As for not being able to beat them...
If she can't beat her, then it's a good thing if she really keeps her in the princess's residence. She can keep an eye on the princess every day and prevent Jiang Yinjin from getting close, which can be considered a roundabout way to achieve her goal.
At the same time, Princess Ryan also saw through Shen Mianmian's adjusted thinking and said to Ding Shi, "She is much smarter than you."
Ding looked over in confusion, and saw that it was still Mianmian attacking and the female guards dodging. She couldn't see any difference, and still followed the princess's words, "Yes, this humble woman is foolish."
More than an hour later.
The exchange has ended.
The female bodyguard didn't even pant, while Chen Mianmian lay on the ground without any regard for her image, exhausted like a dead dog.
In the end, she didn't even touch the hem of the female bodyguard's clothes.
But her competitive spirit was successfully ignited—she was determined to learn this martial art.
...
The next day.
morning.
The princess's residence was bustling with activity.
A row of carriages was parked in front of the mansion. The elegantly dressed ladies were helped down from the carriages by servants and entered the princess's mansion amidst laughter and chatter.
This lotus banquet only invited female guests; no men were invited.
The princess even dispatched guards to completely block off an alley in front of the princess's mansion gate, allowing only guest carriages to enter and exit, while other vehicles were not permitted to pass.
Inside the princess's residence, there is a large lotus pond. It is currently the season when the lotus flowers are in full bloom, and admiring them from the waterside pavilion is a truly elegant affair.
Therefore, the banquet was named after the lotus flower and was called the Lotus Banquet.
At this moment, the princess, surrounded by her female guests, was chatting and laughing in the waterside pavilion.
A gentle breeze blew across the waterside pavilion, lifting the pink gauze curtains and carrying the scent of rouge and powder with it.
The benches around the waterside pavilion were filled with young ladies, while the soft chairs in the middle of the pavilion were occupied by older women.
A few rays of sunlight shone into the waterside pavilion, reflecting off the expensive headdress on the woman's head and making it glitter like gold, which echoed the shimmering water outside the pavilion.
As Chen Mianmian sat beside Ding Shi, she soon received all sorts of strange glances.
Some were amazed by her beauty, some envied her for being favored by the princess, while others were waiting to see what would happen, their gazes constantly shifting between her and another beautiful woman in the corner.
Another beautiful woman?
She was Liu Xiangning, brought from the Marquis of Xuanping's residence.
Chen Mianmian glanced over and found that Liu Xiangning was different from the last time she saw her: the Liu Xiangning in her memory was a typical big-breasted, brainless cannon fodder female supporting character.
She still can't understand why the girl would hit her at the banquet hosted by the Minister's wife.
But upon meeting her this time, Liu Xiangning appeared thin and frail, with a pale complexion, her beautiful willow-leaf eyebrows deeply furrowed, and her eyes thoughtful.
This feeling is like Lu Zhishen instantly transforming into Lin Daiyu.
Liu Xiangning, who was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, felt the gaze and subconsciously looked up, just in time to meet Shen Mianmian's eyes. The two locked eyes.
Chenmian cast a curious glance at her—"I said, why have you suddenly become so weak?"
Liu Xiangning quickly looked away—Grandma, don't look at me!
Princess Ryan caught their eyes meeting, smiled slightly, and said slowly in the languid tone of someone in a superior position, "It's rather boring just sitting here chatting like this. Who can think of something to do?"
For some reason, everyone suddenly remembered the gathering hosted by the Minister's wife, and the farce of the fight between the "skinny horses" of the Marquis of Anning's family and the Marquis of Xuanping's family.
His eyes unconsciously glanced at the two of them.
Princess Ryan raised an eyebrow and looked at Liu Xiangning in the corner. "I heard you're quite the fighter?"
All eyes turned to Liu Xiangning.
Liu Xiangning turned even paler with fright and knelt on the ground, her voice trembling as she said, "Your Highness...this humble woman...this humble woman has never learned martial arts..."
"Weren't you having a good fight at the Minister's residence? Why can't you fight at my Princess's residence? Are you not taking me seriously?"
In an instant, the waterside pavilion fell into a deathly silence.
Startled, Madam Feng stood up. "Your Highness, please forgive me. Liu Xiangning would not dare to underestimate Your Highness. Whatever program Your Highness wishes to perform, please let her perform it."
No one thought much of it, assuming that Madam Feng might ask Liu Xiangning to perform the yaoqin (a seven-stringed zither). After all, at the last gathering, someone had said that Liu Xiangning came from Yaotaifang and was an exceptional yaoqin player.
Liu Xiangning suddenly had a bad feeling.
Princess Rui'an smiled with satisfaction and said to Madam Feng, "It's a real pity that I didn't witness her sparring with Shen Mianmian at the Minister's residence last time. How about we let them have another match today so I can see it?"
Liu Xiangning was greatly alarmed.
Before Liu Xiangning could think of a way to refuse, Zhou Miaoyin said from the side, "Yes, Your Highness, we will obey your orders."
Looking at the unsurprised expression on the face of the Lady of Xuanping Marquis's residence, and the delighted look on her face when she saw Zhou Miaoyin, Liu Xiangning instantly realized something—they probably already knew that the princess had asked her to fight with Shen Mianmian!
She had just observed that Princess Ruian and Lady Anning were close, sitting together the whole time, while Shen Mianmian was sitting next to Lady Anning.
In other words, Princess Ryan deliberately brought her here just to vent her anger on behalf of Shen Mianmian.
She was both jealous and suspicious, unable to understand why all these people liked Chen Mianmian.
Shen Mianmian doesn't have a good reputation in Jiangnan. Also, it seems that Lord Huo doesn't know Shen Mianmian's personality and even makes her imitate Shen Mianmian.
Where is the problem?
Princess Ryan stood up. "Then let's go to the training ground."
As he spoke, he gave a deep look at Chen Mianmian beside him, his eyes seeming to say—it's up to you now.
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